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District of Minnesota

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Justice News

Northfield Man Pleads Guilty To Distributing Child Pornography

MINNEAPOLIS — Last week in federal court, a 42-year-old Northfield man pleaded guilty to one count of Distribution of Child Pornography. Charles Edward Bracken, who was indicted on October 8, 2013, entered his guilty plea before United States District Judge Richard H. Kyle on July 2, 2014.

In his plea agreement, Bracken admitted that on September 16, 2010, he distributed a computer image depicting two minor boys engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The defendant also admitted that he possessed on his laptop computer approximately 21,541 images and more than 574 videos of child pornography, some of which portrayed sadistic or masochistic conduct or other depictions of violence. The defendant distributed these images through an Internet file- sharing program.

For his crime, Bracken faces a possible maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. Judge Kyle will determine his sentence at a future hearing, yet to be scheduled.

This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Karen B. Schommer.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (“PSC”), a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney offices and the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identify and rescue victims. For more information about PSC, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/resources.html and click on the tab “resources.”